Making Inferences and Persepolis Connections
Name: Mrs. Brill
Subject: English
Grade: 9/10
Lesson Title
Connections to Persepolis 3: Women in the Middle East
Newsela Article
“Afghan woman drives taxi, defies threats ” (1150L)
Learning Objective
and Essential
Questions
A statement(s) about
what students will learn
from this particular
activity.
Students will be able to make connections between the text they are reading and the real
world. They will also be able to answer the following Essential Questions using Newsela
Write:
1. What does Persepolis teach readers about the way women are seen and treated in
the Middle East?
2. How are women able to empower themselves in the face of oppression in the real
world?
Learning Standard
Include the standard
that this activity helps
teach (i.e., a state
standard, a school
standard, a common
core standard, etc.).
Common Core Standards for English:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.7
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.9
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.9
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.10
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.6
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.6
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.10
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3
Lesson Content
How will you introduce
the lesson to your
students? How will you
teach them the skills
they need to be
successful? How will
you allow students to
practice the skills they
learned with Newsela’s
Write feature? How will
you assess mastery?
Prior Learning:
- Students should discuss the way that Marji and other women are seen/treated by
others in the novel Persepolis.
-
They should also discuss how Marji and others, like her mother or her friends, react to
this treatment.
-
An extension of this could be to ask students how they would feel if they were in the
same position.
After Reading the Article:
-
Students should complete the Quiz questions on the site and the Write question.
-
In addition, students should also answer the question listed below which can be
added to the site using the Write feature or done on a separate document.
-
How does the woman featured in the article find a way to empower herself
despite the oppression she and other women in her society face? Use
specific examples from the article to support your answer. Answer should be
one paragraph in length.
-
In what ways is this woman similar to Marji or her mother? In what ways do
they differ? One paragraph in length. Use specific examples from both
pieces.
-
What can Marji and her mother learn from the woman featured? One
paragraph in length. Use details from the article and the novel to construct
your response.
- Students should then share their responses
to the questions with their peers.
Suggestions for Sharing:
-
Whole class discussion.
-
Small group discussion then large
group.
-
Jigsaw sharing per question.
-
“Dinner Party” share (directions
posted on previous Persepolis
lesson).
Accommodations
What scaffolds can be
included to support
learners? Can you
anticipate different
reading levels for
students?
●
Extensions
How can you support
high level learners?
Can you anticipate
reading level and
Writing Prompt to
challenge?
●
●
●
●
●
Varying the reading levels of the article to meet student needs and abilities (lowest
level 1050L).
Offering students the opportunity to work with a partner in answering the additional
Write questions.
Reading the article out loud as a class.
Going over challenging vocabulary together as the students read or provide word
bank (especially if reading at the max level)
○ ex: “detractors”, “taboos”, “insurgents”.
Increase Reading Level (this is easy to do if the students are reading independently).
Extend this exercise by using additional Newsela articles listed below and focusing on
the following question:
○ Why is it important for societies to empower women?
Additional Articles:
“For most women and girls, it's still a man's world ” (1140L).
“President and first lady push a global program to help educate girls” (1200L).
“Standing with their sisters, Saudi men help women's driving campaign” (1200L) .
“Afghan women worry their new freedoms may disappear” (1160L).
“First lady in Asia: Girl power starts with going to school, dreaming big” (1200L).